Genocides of the 20th Century

Opening reception of the exhibition

→ Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 6pm
6pm: Reception | 7pm: Lecture

In attendance
Jan Gehler, President of Scottsdale Community College
Gerrit Steenblik, Honorary Consul of France in Phoenix
Jacques Fredj, Executive Director, Mémorial de la Shoah

 

Exhibition Genocides of the 20th Century

On view from January 24 through April 27, 2017
Free admission

The genocide is a specific breach of international criminal law and a very individualized concept. The specificity of this violation and the precision of this concept are underlined by the comparative approach of three mass murders perpetrated during the 20th Century, which have been proven beyond any reasonable doubt to be genocides. In chronological order, they are the destruction of the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire, of the Jews of Europe, and of the Rwandan Tutsis. These genocides are comparable. The analysis of their similarities and their differences allows for a better understanding of their respective mechanisms.

Each genocide is singular. By the irrationality of the motive, the radicalness of the group’s destruction, and its disproportion, the Holocaust is an unprecedented crime in the history of mankind, while the two other genocides partly fall under political motives.

This exhibition was designed, created, and distributed by the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris, France (curators Georges Bensoussan, Joel Kotek, and Yves Ternon), and made possible through the generous support of Assemblea Legislativa Regione Emilia-Romagna and SNCF.

This presentation is held in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the Genocide Awareness Week founded and led by Prof. John Liffiton. It was made possible through the support of the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles, the Embassy of France in the United States, The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, East Valley JCC, Alliance Française of Greater Phoenix, Arizona Jewish Historical Society and SNCF.

Photo: Eleanor Roosevelt, President of the Redaction Committee for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Lake Success, New York, November 1949, Public Domain

 

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